Israel Discount Bank Q2 profit jumps, beats estimates

Israel’s fourth-largest bank by assets earned 545 million shekels ($156 million) in the second quarter, up from 423 million a year earlier and above a forecast of 474 million shekels in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Discount said it would pay a dividend of 81.75 million shekels, reflecting a dividend rate to 15% of net profit. In late 2018, the bank increased its dividend payout from 10%.

The bank’s tier 1 capital adequacy ratio, which measures equity capital as a percentage of total risk-weighted assets, increased to 10.37% from 10.17% at the end of March 2019.

Last month, Discount named Uri Levin, the head of its U.S. division, as its new chief executive after Lilach Asher-Topilsky said she was stepping down after more than five years in the position to become a partner at the FIMI Fund. Levin’s start date has not yet been set.